Theme or 6 traits Identification:
-The theme good vs evil is represented in the chapters five through eight.
One of the theme in this section was good versus evil. From Mina's actions toward her friends such as Lucy, Mina is considered as the representation of good. However, Dracula who kills everyone to produce more vampires symbolize evil. In Mina's letter, it mentions, "I have cried over the good Sister's letter till I can feel it wet against my bosom, where it lies. It is of Jonathan, and must be next my heart, for he is in my heart" (Stoker 94). Mina does not forget about her husband; instead she worries about her husband so much and she wants to visit him. Most importantly, Mina writes in her journal, "I have been working very hard lately, because I want to keep up with Jonathan's studies, and I have been practicing shorthand very assiduously" (Stoker 55). Mina represents good by sacrificing herself for her husband's benefit. She is caring more about her surrounding people instead of herself. If Mina is evil, she would not have cared about her husband. Dracula's evilness is shown when he uses Renfield as his slave. When Renfield goes to Carfex, he says, "I am here to do Your bidding, Master. I am Your slave, and You will reward me, for I shall be faithful. I have worshiped You long and afar off." (Stoker 98). The Master is obviously Dracula and he is trying to use Renfield to do evil deeds. Instead of sacrificing himself like Mina, Dracula is making other people sacrifice for him, which makes him evil. Also, it is written in Mina's journal, "What is twas, whether man or beast, I could not tell; I did not wait to catch another glance" (Stoker 88). Dracula has been mad and he is trying make Lucy as the first vampire, which requires another sacrifice for Dracula. Since Dracula is manipulating Lucy and Renfield, he is considered as evil. Dracula does not sacrifice or help the people in Whitby instead he causes death, which is not what good person would do. On the other hand, Mina has sacrificed herself for Lucy by talking Lucy bravely away from Dracula. This is shown by Mina's journal by "I bent over her I could see that she was still asleep. her lips were parted, and she was breathing--not softly" (Stoker 88). Mina's helpful assist saves Lucy, which demonstrates a courageous sacrifice for a friend. Therefore, Mina who demonstrates good, shows her own sacrifice for people; however, Dracula, representation of evil, is only manipulating other people for his own satisfaction.
Critical Passage:
"Indeed, it might have been serious, for the skin of her throat was pierced. I must have pinched up a piece of loose skin and have transfixed it, for there are two little red points like pinpricks, and on the band of her nightdress was a drop of blood" (Stoker 89).
This passage is very important for readers to know that the two red points are not from the pin, it is from the Dracula. The Dracula has already bitten Lucy. From this point on, Lucy is just another vampire. Also, this could mean that Dracula is trying take Lucy as his wife or at least as a alliance. The two red points represent that Lucy is going to turn to the evil side with Dracula who is trying to produce as many vampire as possible. This foreshadows that Lucy is turning against Mina who represents good, which could possibly make a battle between the two. Most importantly, from next chapters, the readers are probably able to see the metamorphosis that Lucy is going to go through as she is turning into a vampire. Therefore, from this passage, we are able to foretell the events that could possible occur in the next chapters.
Literary Advice:
1. Simile and Allegory: "A woman ought to tell her husband everything--don't you think so, dear?--and I must be fair. Men like women, certainly their wives, to be quite as fair as they are; and women, I am afraid, are not always quite as fair as they should be" (Stoker 58).
Mr. Stoker is using simile in this section to emphasize the importance of different roles that woman and man had in the Victorian Era. He mentions the quote, "as fair as" twice. This demonstrates that women were not equal to men in the Victorian Era. Therefore, it is an allegory, too because it is reflecting to the past events in England. Also, from the phrase "as fair as," it is easy to see the compare and contrast between men and women. It is distinguishing men and women clearly. Therefore, Stoker uses the simile and allegory to refer to the historical event and demonstrate the inequality between men and women.
2. Simile: "When we closed in on him he fought like a tiger. He is immensely strong, and he was more like a wild beast than a man" (Stoker 98).
The quote emphasizes that Renfield is really strong and inhumane. It is mentioned that "wild beast than a man," which demonstrates how Renfield is closer to a beast than a man. Although Renfield is human physically, the text explains that Renfield is closer to beast in strength and mind. Due to simile, the readers are able to draw an image of Renfield's appearance. A reader can assume that Renfield looks scary and big. Therefore from the simile, one can see that Renfield is not really a human who can think, but rather as a tiger or beast, which only uses strength instead of intelligence.
Reflection:
As the first discussion, I personally believe that we did really well. The first activity, acting, was very affective to get the attraction from our class. I expected everyone to be a little bit tired from all the work they had to do for today, so I chose to do acting, which could get them a little bit excited before the discussion. Also, the activity was very productive for the students to learn, which part if very important in the novel, Dracula. Since we acted the scene out, the students were able to visualize what was really happening in the important scene, which gives them better understanding of the novel. However the bad thing about the acting was that it took a little bit too much time. Every transition and acting took a little time to progress. Overall, the acting activity was really great to get people's attention. Next time, we could make the acting activity better by assigning the students the character beforehand so that they could prepare better for acting. Also, this would take less time for transition. For the Socratic Seminar, it was good for the students to understand their character much better. Most importantly, they had the option to speak in different point of view, which made the discussion very interesting. However, some students did not prepare as their character, so it was not as affective as the acting activity. To improve, I think the students should have prepared a little better. From these activities, I learned that it was very significant to get the people's attention and teach them enthusiastically. Overall the discussion was really great and I think helped the students to understand the section much better.
Theme or 6 traits Identification:
-The theme good vs evil is represented in the chapters five through eight.
One of the theme in this section was good versus evil. From Mina's actions toward her friends such as Lucy, Mina is considered as the representation of good. However, Dracula who kills everyone to produce more vampires symbolize evil. In Mina's letter, it mentions, "I have cried over the good Sister's letter till I can feel it wet against my bosom, where it lies. It is of Jonathan, and must be next my heart, for he is in my heart" (Stoker 94). Mina does not forget about her husband; instead she worries about her husband so much and she wants to visit him. Most importantly, Mina writes in her journal, "I have been working very hard lately, because I want to keep up with Jonathan's studies, and I have been practicing shorthand very assiduously" (Stoker 55). Mina represents good by sacrificing herself for her husband's benefit. She is caring more about her surrounding people instead of herself. If Mina is evil, she would not have cared about her husband. Dracula's evilness is shown when he uses Renfield as his slave. When Renfield goes to Carfex, he says, "I am here to do Your bidding, Master. I am Your slave, and You will reward me, for I shall be faithful. I have worshiped You long and afar off." (Stoker 98). The Master is obviously Dracula and he is trying to use Renfield to do evil deeds. Instead of sacrificing himself like Mina, Dracula is making other people sacrifice for him, which makes him evil. Also, it is written in Mina's journal, "What is twas, whether man or beast, I could not tell; I did not wait to catch another glance" (Stoker 88). Dracula has been mad and he is trying make Lucy as the first vampire, which requires another sacrifice for Dracula. Since Dracula is manipulating Lucy and Renfield, he is considered as evil. Dracula does not sacrifice or help the people in Whitby instead he causes death, which is not what good person would do. On the other hand, Mina has sacrificed herself for Lucy by talking Lucy bravely away from Dracula. This is shown by Mina's journal by "I bent over her I could see that she was still asleep. her lips were parted, and she was breathing--not softly" (Stoker 88). Mina's helpful assist saves Lucy, which demonstrates a courageous sacrifice for a friend. Therefore, Mina who demonstrates good, shows her own sacrifice for people; however, Dracula, representation of evil, is only manipulating other people for his own satisfaction.
Critical Passage:
"Indeed, it might have been serious, for the skin of her throat was pierced. I must have pinched up a piece of loose skin and have transfixed it, for there are two little red points like pinpricks, and on the band of her nightdress was a drop of blood" (Stoker 89).
This passage is very important for readers to know that the two red points are not from the pin, it is from the Dracula. The Dracula has already bitten Lucy. From this point on, Lucy is just another vampire. Also, this could mean that Dracula is trying take Lucy as his wife or at least as a alliance. The two red points represent that Lucy is going to turn to the evil side with Dracula who is trying to produce as many vampire as possible. This foreshadows that Lucy is turning against Mina who represents good, which could possibly make a battle between the two. Most importantly, from next chapters, the readers are probably able to see the metamorphosis that Lucy is going to go through as she is turning into a vampire. Therefore, from this passage, we are able to foretell the events that could possible occur in the next chapters.
Literary Advice:
1. Simile and Allegory: "A woman ought to tell her husband everything--don't you think so, dear?--and I must be fair. Men like women, certainly their wives, to be quite as fair as they are; and women, I am afraid, are not always quite as fair as they should be" (Stoker 58).
Mr. Stoker is using simile in this section to emphasize the importance of different roles that woman and man had in the Victorian Era. He mentions the quote, "as fair as" twice. This demonstrates that women were not equal to men in the Victorian Era. Therefore, it is an allegory, too because it is reflecting to the past events in England. Also, from the phrase "as fair as," it is easy to see the compare and contrast between men and women. It is distinguishing men and women clearly. Therefore, Stoker uses the simile and allegory to refer to the historical event and demonstrate the inequality between men and women.
2. Simile: "When we closed in on him he fought like a tiger. He is immensely strong, and he was more like a wild beast than a man" (Stoker 98).
The quote emphasizes that Renfield is really strong and inhumane. It is mentioned that "wild beast than a man," which demonstrates how Renfield is closer to a beast than a man. Although Renfield is human physically, the text explains that Renfield is closer to beast in strength and mind. Due to simile, the readers are able to draw an image of Renfield's appearance. A reader can assume that Renfield looks scary and big. Therefore from the simile, one can see that Renfield is not really a human who can think, but rather as a tiger or beast, which only uses strength instead of intelligence.
Reflection:
As the first discussion, I personally believe that we did really well. The first activity, acting, was very affective to get the attraction from our class. I expected everyone to be a little bit tired from all the work they had to do for today, so I chose to do acting, which could get them a little bit excited before the discussion. Also, the activity was very productive for the students to learn, which part if very important in the novel, Dracula. Since we acted the scene out, the students were able to visualize what was really happening in the important scene, which gives them better understanding of the novel. However the bad thing about the acting was that it took a little bit too much time. Every transition and acting took a little time to progress. Overall, the acting activity was really great to get people's attention. Next time, we could make the acting activity better by assigning the students the character beforehand so that they could prepare better for acting. Also, this would take less time for transition. For the Socratic Seminar, it was good for the students to understand their character much better. Most importantly, they had the option to speak in different point of view, which made the discussion very interesting. However, some students did not prepare as their character, so it was not as affective as the acting activity. To improve, I think the students should have prepared a little better. From these activities, I learned that it was very significant to get the people's attention and teach them enthusiastically. Overall the discussion was really great and I think helped the students to understand the section much better.